Luke 14:25-35
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, September 7, 2025
“Leave the Crowd To Be a Disciple”
“Are you sure you want to do that? Are you sure you want to join the Cross Country team? You don’t even like to run. You do know what cross-country athletes do, right? They run. A lot.” “Are you sure you want to run a marathon? That’s a long way, and it’s going to take a lot of work to prepare, and even if you do, it’s still going to hurt.” “Are you sure you want to do that?” can be an important question, and not just about things that involve running. There are plenty of people who join a cross country team not because they are the best runners but because they like to challenge themselves, they enjoy the team and the camaraderie, and they feel accomplished when they cross the finish line. They know it will be a challenge, but they feel the challenge is worthwhile. There are all sorts of challenges in life that need some consideration. And there are lots of goals that require effort and sacrifice. They come with a cost.
Asking “Are you sure you want to do that?” is very much like counting the cost. In our Gospel, we heard Jesus use a different illustration or story to demonstrate this. He talks about the person building a tower. If you want to build a tower, an important step is to count the cost. That doesn’t just mean total up the price of the materials needed. It means to think about that, about the time and effort involved, and compare all of it to the resources you have on hand. It’s embarrassing to start building a tower by laying a foundation and then running out of money to actually build the tower. You’re left with a useless foundation. You’re left with a half-finished project that doesn’t serve any purpose other than to call into question your planning or perhaps your intelligence.
Jesus is not inviting people to consider a cross country season or a marathon, though, is he? He is trying to get people to really appreciate the central value of their very lives. He’s asking people if they are really sure they want to follow him. He’s asking them if they really want to be his disciples.
That answer may seem obvious. Who wouldn’t want to follow Jesus? There were good reasons that it was a large crowd, in fact large crowds, traveling with Jesus. Here was an engaging teacher. He was a worker of miracles. He had healed people and driven out spirits. They were waiting to hear more and see more. And Jesus told them difficult things.
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” When we think of words of Jesus, those are probably not the ones that come to mind. This doesn’t even sound like Jesus to us. We’re expecting him to say, “Love your neighbor.” We anticipate, “Serve others, pray for your enemies.” Jesus said those things, too, but on this occasion, he turns to the crowd and calls for them to hate their own family members and even their own lives.
Maybe this makes sense is certain situations. The person who group up in an abusive family might already feel a strong dislike for that family, a willingness, even an interest in letting it go. But to hate even your own life? That’s a different matter altogether. And, of course, Jesus isn’t talking about leaving behind family members that you don’t like. He is saying that the cost of being his disciple is that everything else has to become less important. It has to be subordinated. And should anything get in the way of following Jesus, we ought to hate that as a real danger. As large as the crowds were traveling with Jesus, not everyone joined in. There were plenty of people who opposed him. There were many who rejected him. A real disciple could not be swayed by the Pharisees who were jealous of Jesus. The disciples could not listen to a mom or a dad who said, “The Pharisees have been around for a long time. They are our religious leaders. Maybe Jesus is not who you think he is.” That had to be rejected and hated. All of the things that we naturally love could get in the way of being a disciple of Jesus.
As if that were not bad enough, Jesus adds this: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Not only are disciples of Jesus to be prepared to give up those things that are closest to them, they are also expected to embrace those things they most dislike and fear. A cross was an instrument of torture. It was painful and heavy and hard. It’s easy for us today to think of the cross as a symbol and decoration or even jewelry. But it has only become those things because it was an instrument of
torture and death for Jesus. He knew that his road was taking him to Jerusalem for suffering and death. His followers needed to learn that. And his followers needed to understand that their lives would bring pain and challenge and suffering. Disciples would have to carry their own crosses. Count the cost.
Remember the tower? Decide in advance if you are going to spend all that it cost to build it. Think of a king going out to war. When he realizes that his troops are outnumbered, he has to figure it out. Are we prepared enough to win anyway? Do we have knowledge of the terrain and the landscape that will be enough of an advantage? Or do we have to beg the other force to make peace with us?
What’s not said but implied in all of this is that it was easy to be a part of the crowd. There was no real commitment to following Jesus and seeing what he might do or say next. Jesus was explaining that true discipleship meant a real commitment. It came with a cost. And that cost could be significant. A disciple of Jesus would need to be prepared to give up everything dearest and to embrace everything most feared and despised. It could cost life itself. It could cost all of one’s possessions. It could rip apart families. Facing those challenges and remaining faithful would be how Christians, disciples, would stand out as salt in a world that needed it.
But Jesus is not trying to dissuade people from following him. He is offering a real invitation. “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Don’t come halfway. Don’t build only a foundation or send out troops to be destroyed by a larger force. Don’t be surprised by painful trials. Count the cost. Know the consequences. And come anyway.
You and I need to hear that following Jesus, being a disciple, means more than just coming to church. It means more than finding ourselves in a crowd as we thankfully do when we gather together on a Sunday morning. It means fighting against our sinful natures and all their evil desires. It means that we may have to make decisions that people we admire don’t like. It means being prepared to die for the one who died for me. It means leaving the crowd, the comfortable, the curious and instead being committed.
If you just focus on these few verses, you might wonder why anyone would ever be a disciple of Jesus. Who would sign up for this? The person who would give up on everything he holds dear is the one who has learned that he has nothing without Jesus. The one who would say farewell to all his possessions understands that possessions are fleeting and temporary. The one who would hate his own life for Jesus has come to believe that Jesus gave up his own life for the world and gives eternal life to all who believe in him.
Are you sure you want to do that? When Jesus asks us to count the cost, the stakes are much higher than joining the cross country team or running a marathon. When Jesus asks us to count the cost, we see a cross. We may be called to give up family, possessions, even our own lives. The one who would do that knows that Jesus has given us heaven, and blessings that far surpass anything we have or know now. Let’s hear and heed the call. Let’s count the cost. Let’s every day leave the crowd and commit to being a disciple.
The Text: Luke 14:25–35 (EHV)
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, if he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, everyone who sees it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build, but was not able to finish.’
31Or what king, as he goes out to confront another king in war, will not first sit down and consider if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32And if he is not able, he sends out a delegation and asks for terms of peace while his opponent is still far away. 33So then, any one of you who does not say farewell to all his own possessions cannot be my disciple. 34Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? 35It is not fit for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”